Rail joint



J. W. CLARK.

RAIL JOINT. APPLICATION FILED FEB. I5. 1922.

Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

J. W. CLARK.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED LEB. I5. |922.

1,434,481 Patented Nov 7, 1922..

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

L/of//I/ W CLARK /NVENTOR Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

UNITED STATES JOHN W. CLARK, or PROVIDENCE, nHoDErsLAND.

RAIL JOINT.

Application led February 15, 1922. Serial No. 536,749.

T o all whom it may concern.: f y

Be it known that I, JOI-IN WV. CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of RhodeIsland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RailJoints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved means for connecting the meetingends of two railway rails in such a manner as to secure al high degreeof iiexibility at the junction of the rails, as well as to provide asupport for the rail ends which will not be subject to the usualdistortion by reason ot the constant wear occasioned by the passage oftrains over the meeting ends of the rails.

One object of the invention is to provide a trussed joint wherein themeeting ends of the rails are supported by a seat held in place by atruss member in such a manner as to overcome the excessive wear usuallyoccasioned by the vibration of the rail ends,v as well as to providesuchan arrangement of. the parts thatithe pressure exerted upon the seatwill be exerted substantially longitudinally of the truss member toavoid bending of the same and at the same time furnish a firm andflexible support.`

.another object of the invention is to provide a novel means foryieldably supporting the seat from the fish plates to hold the saineconstantly in'contact with tbe meeting ends of the rails whilepermitting the necessary movement of the seat due to the vibration ofthev rail ends.

A further object of. the invention is to provide an improved :form offish plate for resiliently engaging the opposite sides of the railsadjacent to their meeting ends, to-

gether with improved means for connecting' the supporting seat to thefish plates whereby increased flexibility of the parts is secured. f

Other objectsand advantages of the invention relate to certain improveddetails o'f construction and arrangement of the parts as will be morefully set forth in the .detailed l description to follow,

`Referring to the drawings:

Fig. lis a side elevational view of the im-A proved rail joint; b Fig, 2is a top plan view ofthe truss mem- Fig. 3 is a side view of the trussmember Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view, taken along theline 4 4 of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sec-tional view taken along the line 5-5of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional viev taken along the line 66 of Fig. 4 'an a l Fig. 7 is a longitudinal horizontal sectional viewtaken along the line 7--7 of Fig'. l. y

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herewith l and 2designate respectively adjacent rails the abutting ends of which areindicated. by the numerals 3 anda respectively. The cross-tiessupporting the end of the rail l are numbered 5 and G, while thecorrespondingly positioned cross-ties for supporting the rail Qareindicated by reference characters 7 andfS.

Fish plates 9 and 10, of symmetrical Jform are positioned upon oppositesides of the meeting ends of the rails l and 2 and secured to each otherthrough the'web portions ll of the rails by means of plurality ot boltsl2. Each oit the fish` plates is provided'with a thickened innercentra-l portion 13; the thickened portions of the fish plates beinglocated opposite each other and the meeting ends of therails when theparts are in assembled position. The thickened portion ot each fishplate extends inwardly towards the rail web from the main body portionof the plate when the same is in operative position as shown in Fig'i?of the drawings, whereby the thickened portion contacts directly withthe rail and serves t-o a certain extent as a tulerum` about which theextremities of the plate are sprung into binding contact with the rail.`Each of the fish plates is formed t-o provide throughout its length theusual bearing head 14 and the usual inclined foot flange 15 for suitablyengaging the head and base Hangs respecttively of each rail. A dependinglug 16 is formed upon each of the fish plates cenL trally thereof and isinclined inwardly to contact at the lower end thereof with one of theoppositely inclined ends 17 of a'seat 18 positioned beneath the meetingends of the rails. Each of the oppositely positioned depending lugs 16,is provided with an oblong opening 1E) tor the reception oi' a screw 2Owhich is threaded linto a suitable opening in the end ol' the seat 18.

A truss member 21, which may be of suiii' cient length to overlie twocross-ties upon each side of the rail joint, although it is ca pable ofuse when Yformed y'for attachment to one'cross-tie only, on each side ofthe rail joint, is positioned beneath the ends oi, the adjacent railsand provided with suitably po= sitioned openings 22 Yfor the receptionof screws .23 which may be' threaded through the truss member 2 1 andinto the cross-tie for securely anchoring the opposite ends ot' the:truss member. The screws 23 employed for anchoring theV truss member tothe crossties nearest to the rail joint are preferably passed through orthreaded in the base fianges 15 of the iish plates whereby the trussmember is securely anchored to the lish plates aS well asto thecross-ties, thus providing an additional fastening` means ci asubstantial character for holding the truss member securely in position.It is to be understood, however, that the threading oi the screws 23into the cross-ties is optional and that a part or yall of the screwsmay be lreplacedor supplemented by suitable tastening devices ydriveninto the crossties, instead ofthreaded therein, or that anyothersuitable form oi fastening devices may be employed reither assubstitutes vtork or in conjunction with the screws23 for suitablyanchoring the ends of the truss member. The truss member 21 is providedadjacent the center thereof with inclined portions 24, and

a pairofeoppositely positioned upturned lugs 25, which extend outwardlyof and in registry with the downwardly extending lugs 16 carried by theiish plates. The lugs 25 are providedwith openings 26 for the rej`ception of the screws 2O whereby the seat 18 is held in positionbeneath the meeting ends ot' the rails by attachment to both the lugs 16and `the lugs 25.

The central portion of. the truss member supports the seat 18 inposition to contact with the meeting ends oi' the rails while perlmitting flexing ,of the parts as the weight of the ltrain passes overthe joint. By reason.`

of thev inclinecbportions 241 of the truss member adjacent to the seatthe strain tov whichtjhe trussl member issubjected during the ,passageof a train over the joint is ex# erted` substantially longitudinally ofthe truss member, and therefore any liability o'li bending or distortingof the truss. member is avoided while resistance of the same to thestrain is correspondingly increased. The truss member being securelyanchored to the fish plates and cross-ties upon opposite sides of therail joint acts as a cradle to adequately support the rail ends whilepermitting the necessary vibration of the .rail ends without theconsequent distortion of the seat generally resulting therefrom indevices ol' this character.

The oppositely positioned inclined lugs 16 carried by the fish platesengage the inclined ends 17 of the seat 18 adjacent to the lower side oithev seat as shown in Fig. l or the drawings, and when Ithe screws 2()are prop-` erly tightened the lugs' 16 vare placed under tension bypressure oi' the lugs-25 thereon so that theyyieldingly urge the seatupwardly and into contact withthe rail ends. rfhis eifectlmay beincreased by forming the lower ends of the lugs v16 somewhat thickerthan the upper portions thereof as indicatedat 2T whereby increasedpressure upon the lugs 16 and the lower inclined ends of the seat 18 isobtained in tightening the screws 20. The provision of the oblongopenings 19 in the lugs-16y permits slight vertical movement oi the seat18 upon vibration ot the rail ends, while the tension upon the lugs 16tends to return the seat into contact with the rail endsas soon as thevibration Iof the rail ends has subsided. By means of this improvedarrangement of the parts, especially when taken in connection with theimproved form of fish plates employed, a joint is provided whichpossesses a: high degree'of flexibility' while at the same time theprovision of the truss member firmlysupports the parts in position thuscombining` to a high degree the necessary elementsoiz strengthandflexibility requisite in devicesoi"4 this character.

While I have described one form ot my invention with considerableparticularity in order to make clear to those skilled in the art apractical application of the same.l I am aiv'are that various changesmay be made in the details of construction and arrangement of the partswithout departing from the spirit and scope or' my invention andtherefore I do not desire to be limited to the vprecise detailsoiic'onstruction shown andl described except as the same may be properlyembraced within the terms ofthe appended claims when broadly construedin the light of my-invention. I U

What I cla-im'is 1. A rail joint comprising apair of abutY ting railends, sh plates upon opposite sides oit' therail ends, bolts passingthrough said lrail ends and iish plates, a resiliently supported seatpositioned beneath the meeting points 'of said rail ends, a ltrussunderlyingrv said seat to support the vsame from points remote from themeeting ends oi said rails and provided with upturned lugs adjacent tothe opposite ends of said seat, and means for connecting said lugs tosaid seat.

2. A rail joint comprising a pair of abutting rail ends, fish platesupon opposite sides of the rail ends, bolts passing through said railends and fish plates, a seat for the meeting ends of said rails, `atruss member anchored at points located upon opposite sides of said seatand flexibly supporting the seat in contact with the meeting ends ofsaid rails, said truss member being provided with portions overlying theends of said seat, and means for securing said seat to said overlyingportions.

3. A rail joint comprising a pair of abutting rail ends, fish platesupon opposite sides of the rail ends provided with oppositely positioneddownwardly extending lugs, a seat positioned between said lugs andresiliently supported thereby in contact with the base of said railends, and additional means for supporting said seat to permit flexing ofthe same upon movement of said rail ends.

4. A rail joint comprising a pair of abutting rail ends, .fish platesupon opposite sides of the rail ends provided with downwardly extendinginwardly inclined lugs, a seat for said rail ends positioned betweensaid lugs and provided with inclined ends engageable by said inclinedlugs to normally retain said seat in abutting relation with the saidrail ends, a truss member underlying said seat and provided with lugsoverlying the lugs carried by said fish plates, and means for holdingsaid seat in position relative tothe oppositely positioned lugs and incontact with said rail ends.

5. In a rail joint construction, the combination with adjacent rails, offish plates provided with thickened central portions locatedsubstantially opposite the meeting ends of said rails, and oppositelypositioned depending lugs located adjacent to the meeting ends of saidrails; a seat positioned beneath the meeting ends of said rails andmovably secured to said lugs; and a truss member anchored at pointsremote from the meeting ends of said rails and supporting said seat incontact with the meeting ends of the rails.

6. In a rail joint structure, the. combination with adj acent rails, offish plates posi-- tioned upon opposite sides of said rails and providedwith oppositely positioned depending lugs located adjacent the meetingends of said rails, means for securing said fish plates in position uponopposite sides of said rails, a seat located beneath the meeting ends ofthe rails and between said depending lugs, a truss member underlyingsaid seat and provided with upwardly extending lugs overlying the lugscarried by the fish plates, and fastening devices passed through theoppositely positioned lugs and secured to the seat for retaining saidseat in proper posi- 'tion relative to the meeting ends of the videdwith inclined ends contacting therewith, fastening means for yieldablyconnecting said seat to said lugs, and a truss 'member underlying saidseat and supporting the same in contact with said rail ends.

8. In a rail joint structure, the combination with adjacent. rails, offish plates secured upon opposite sides thereof and provided withdepending inclined lugs located opposite the meeting ends of said rails,each of said lugs being provided with an oblong opening, a seat locatedbetween said lugs and provided with inclined ends with which saidinclined lugs contact to maintain said seat in contact with the b-ase ofsaid rails, a truss member provided with upturned lugs, and bolts passedthrough the adjacent lugs and secured in said seat to hold the parts inproper operative position.

9. In a rail joint structure, the combination with adjacent rails, of aseat located beneath the meeting ends of said rails, fish platespositioned upon the opposite sides of said rails and provided withdepending lugs engaging the ends of said seat below the center thereof,means for exerting pressure upon said lugs to cause the same to gripsaid seat below the centra-l portion thereof to hold the seat in contactwith the rail ends, and a truss member underlying the seat and anchoredat points located upon opposite sides of said seat.

10. In a rail joint, the combination with adjacent rails, of a seatlocated beneath the meeting ends of said rails and provided withinclined ends, means underlying the seat and secured to said rails atopposite sides of the seat for supporting said seat, and means forexerting pressure upon the inclined ends of said seat below thelcentralportion thereof to hold the seat in contact with said rail ends.

l1. In a rail oint structure, the combina.- tion with adjacent rails, offish plates secured together upon opposite sides of said rails andprovided with oppositely positioned depending lugs located adjacent tothe meeting ends of said rails and provided with inwardly inclinedopposed faces, a seat located between said depending lugs and providedwith inclined ends contacting with the inclined faces of said lugs, anda truss member underlying said seat and supporting the same in contactwith said rail ends.

12. In a rail joint structure, the combinatOIl with adjacent rails, of aseat located ment of the seat relative to the lugs and at the same timeforce the lugs into gripping engagement With said seat to normally hold10 the seat in contact with the rail ends.

In testimony whereof I have aixed my signature.

JOHN W. CLARK.

